WhistlePig 'The Beholden' 21 Year Old Single Malt Whiskey, Vermont, USA

No fake ID needed.

In 2007 a man named Raj Bhakta purchased a scenic piece of land nestled in the rural areas of Shoreham, Vermont. This idyllic location started serving as the main operation grounds of WhistlePig, homing a wide array of pigs, sheep, goats, bees, horses, and maple trees — as well as one big mighty dream of producing premium, high-quality Rye Whiskey. Raj’s vision caught the eyes and ears of Maker's Mark distiller Dave Pickerell who avidly hopped onto the team, and just like that, the most awarded Rye Whiskey-making team in the world was born. Their principle of distilling follows one rule: our grain, our water, our wood. Okay, maybe they follow three rules, but you get our point. With a 500-acre playground at their disposal, the WP team grows and harvests the best ingredients and experiments with barreling and bottling, making it super hard for anyone to out-craft them.

We're not just Beholden, we're absolutely head over heels for this one. The Canadian-born, super-aged, Single-Malt Whiskey is a true sage in its category, flaunting more maturity than any other North American Single Malt out there. It's been sitting pretty in its barrel for twice as long as any other on the continent, making it… like a granddaddy of them all? Distilled from 100% malted barley at the oldest single-malt distillery on the continent (with some hijacked stills from the Lowlands, shh), it aged in American oak ex-bourbon barrels before spending four glorious weeks in Vermont, getting cozy in spent 10-year WhistlePig Rye Whiskey barrels. At 92 proof, it packs a punch of rich maple and dried fruit flavors with a bready, nutty base, savory spice, and subtle smoky notes.